Spend National Whisky Day at One of Scotland’s Best Distilleries (Without Going to Scotland)

By Amanda Sadlowski

Everyone dreams of spending National Whisky Day (that’s Friday, July 27th) among the romantic, Outlander-inspired landscapes of Scotland’s famed distilleries, but if you forgot to buy your plane ticket, The Macallan Distillery has your back.

Wes Tarca

In celebration of their brand-new, multi-million dollar distillery and visitor center that opened in Speyside, Scotland this past June, The Macallan is bringing their distillery (and of course, their scotch) to you this week with The Macallan Distillery Experience, an immersive, multisensory adventure that takes you right to Speyside with the help of 4D and virtual-reality technology. Located in Vanderbilt Hall in New York City’s Grand Central Station, visitors will be able to visit the distillery via a 360-degree video within a cube-like enclosure (those who are wary of VR headsets can breathe easy–you have headphones, but that’s it). You can explore the distillery as you wish—learning about the history and architecture of The Macallan estate as well as their famed whisky-making process (complete with scents, sounds, and the feeling of a refreshing Scottish breeze).

Wes Tarca

For those who want a taste of Scotland too, there will of course be The Macallan whisky on-hand. The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old and the new The Macallan Edition No. 4 will be available for sampling, along with a variety of Scottish treats and snacks.

Ryan Kobane;Wes Tarca

If you’re in NYC, you can try out the Experience on Wednesday, July 25th and Thursday, July 26th from 11:30 am to 7:30 pm and on Friday, July 27th from noon to 4pm. Non-New Yorkers, don’t fret: the Experience is also available to anyone with Internet access or a smartphone right on the The Macallan website (having a VR headset handy will certainly up the experience). A select few liquor stores, bars, and restaurants around the country are also offering the Experience with VR headsets.

Wes Tarca

And if you do happen to be in Scotland, there’s no better place to celebrate National Whisky Day than The Macallan Distillery itself, located on the 390-acre grounds of the gorgeous Easter Elchies estate. The Macallan has distilled whisky there since 1824, creating some of the world’s best single malt whiskys famed for their sherry casks. Not only will the redesigned visitor experience give whisky-lovers high-tech insight into “The Six Pillars” that have built the brand over the past 175+ years, but the new distillery will allow whisky production to increase by a third, keeping the Ron Swansons of the world very happy indeed.